A520.1.3.RB – Self-Awareness Blog (Take 2)
Since
beginning with my degree program I have experienced both management and
leadership courses. During these courses
I have read and took part in many different experiences involving both
leadership and management. According to
the Whetten and Cameron text (2016) there are five core aspects of
self-awareness. These five aspects are
emotional intelligence, values your attitude toward change, cognitive styles,
and core self-evaluation. These five
core aspects are critical areas of self-awareness which have been found through
research to produce successful leaders.
Research into these core aspects also show that these aspects are
predictors of effective personal performance as well as managerial performance.
Throughout
my course work and in my career I have not been one to evaluate myself or be
very self-aware. However, recent changes
in the USAF and attending the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy have
change the way I view this and myself.
Reflecting on time working on my degree and these five core aspects I
have notice a few things about myself.
To start
with my values toward leadership and management have changed. When you begin your career in the military
you see rank as something you want to attain so you can be in charge and tell
people what to do. As I have progressed
in my career and through this degree I have realized that being a good leader
and manager is about more than that. I
have grown to understand that being put in positions of management and
leadership is an opportunity to help others.
At the end of the day you can tell people what to do and they have to do
it. However, when I am in leadership and
management positions I do not want to have to tell people what to do. I now look at how I can develop them to understand
why we do what we do and then have the drive and initiative to go out and get
it done. I want to help others succeed
in areas I have struggled with. I value
the opportunity I am given to lead and manage some of the best people in the
greatest Air Force on earth. My values
have also changed during the duration of this program because during the first
week of my first course my son was born.
This obviously changed the way I looked at thing. (and was not the most
convenient time to start a Master’s degree)
I have
struggled most in my career when dealing with change. As a younger Air Force Airman I never really
understood why things always needed to be changed. Now however, I have been thrust in to more
leadership positions and have a better understand of the need for change. I realize that in the technological world we
live in that the fancy gadget you buy today is already being changed before you
buy it. Where I struggle most I would
have to say when dealing with change is in ambiguity. The text discusses ambiguous situations and
how people have a hard time dealing with it (2016). This is where my real struggles lie. I do not like being told I do not understand
the big picture and then not ever be told what the big picture is. The text discusses people who have a
tolerance to ambiguity are better at transmitting information (2016) and I
think this is a perfect definition and reference to my inability to tolerate
ambiguity.
When
dealing with information and cognitive styles I would have to say I am more
inclined to be the knowing style. My
time as an aircraft mechanic has made me quite detail focused. When facing a problem I tend to look for the
clear fix to the issue. I also tend to
focus on accuracy and precision.
However, during my progression through the degree program and in my
current position within the Inspector General office I have changed some of my
behaviors in this area. When dealing
with a complainant I still must focus on the facts and details as outlined in
the knowing style. When investigating a
complaint I must seek out the credibility of data and focus on clear and
accurate recommendations. However, when
working in the inspection section of the IG I must focus on planning and
preparation to accomplish the inspection at hand. In this section we make clear agendas and
outline how we will accomplish our inspections to ensure we are validating
compliance within our wing. My time in these courses has shown me that there is
not just one cookie cutter way to gather and process your information. I think this has helped me become a better
inspector in my current position.
When dealing
with my emotional intelligence I have experienced a great deal of changes. Studying leadership and management has helped
me realize that one must be in control of their emotions if they want to be
taken seriously. The text states that
emotionally intelligent people are able to accurately recognize and label the
emotions they are experiencing while regulating and controlling them as well
(2016). Early on in my career I was not
very good at this. Mainly due to my problems
with dealing with change I would tend to lose control and become very
frustrated with situations at hand. I
would make this very evident by my actions and behaviors and was counselled on
this frequently. The example in the text
about how individuals react to a bad call during a sporting event is a very
good example of how I would behave. The
difference is I would not become upset and yell at my television. I would become upset and voice my concerns
with my co-workers (not a good idea especially with your boss). The true leader and manager is the one who
you see who can keep their cool no matter the situation. These leaders and managers are the ones who
can normally produce the best results and are good at helping others keep their
cool and control their emotions as well.
Core
self-evaluation is summed up as the fundamental evaluation each person has
developed about himself or herself (2016).
The concept of core self-evaluation can also be looked at as overall
positive self-regard or how a person values themselves and feels proficient as
an individual. Much research has gone
into personality psychology in regards to self-evaluation. From this research five key personality traits
have become increasingly popular. These traits
include extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and
openness. For me this area has remained relatively
unchanged since the start of this program.
I have not been the type of person to evaluate myself very much. I do feel that my self-esteem and overall perception
of self is high. I would say however,
after completing research on this topic I would say I have a positive core
self-evaluation of myself. I have received
feedback both personal and professional that I feel validates this. Several people whom I am friends with make statements
about my positive attitude towards things.
My supervisor has given me feedback several times on this topic. He has told me I keep the office running
smooth even when facing a daunting task or issue. I like to try to keep things positive because
in my opinion you gain nothing from having a negative attitude. So even
when things get rough if you maintain a positive attitude accomplishing your
mission should be attainable.
Being self-aware
is a key facet of being a good leader and manager. During the readings and discussions for this
week a lot of information was discussed involving how to be more self-aware and
evaluate yourself. Reflecting back on
these concepts and topics and the five core aspects of self-awareness I have
noticed some changes in my self-awareness.
These changes in my opinion have benefited me and my leadership and
management abilities.
Whetton, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing
management skills,
9th ed.
Boston, MA: Pearson.
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